Initial project setup:
$ cd client-management
$ python3 -m venv .venv
$ source .venv/bin/activate
(.venv) $
(.venv) $ python3 -m pip install django~=5.0
(.venv) $ django-admin startproject django_project .
(.venv) $ python manage.py runserver
Visit http://127.0.0.1:8000/ to confirm the successful install and then quit the server.
(.venv) $ pip freeze > requirements.txt
Docker
Use Docker to streamline local development with PostgreSQL
Read more about security before deployment
https://docs.docker.com/engine/security/rootless/
After installing Django , deactivate the virtual environment and set up Docker. View my Dockerfile docker-compose.yml and .dockerignore files by visiting my repository on GitHub here.
$
$ touch Dockerfile docker-compose.yml .dockerignore
$ docker-compose up
About Docker
Docker Image: a read-only template with instructions for creating a container
Supported Python images: https://hub.docker.com/_/python/
Dockerfile: defines the custom image
Docker container: running instance of a Docker image.
docker-compose.yml: additional instructions for the container
Docker flow:
create a new virtual environment and install Django
create a new Django project within it
add Dockerfile with custom image instructions
add .dockerignore
build the image
add docker-compose.yml
Spin up containers with docker-compose up
Stop the container:
Press Control + c
Run docker-compose down
Detached mode
runs containers in the background. Use it for a single command line tab. Run docker-compose up -d
Error output won’t always be visible in detached mode. See the current output by running docker-compose logs
Docker vs local commands
Preface traditional commands with docker-compose exec [service]
For example:
$ docker-compose exec web python manage.py createsuperuser
Psycopg
Psycopg is a database adapter. Start off with the binary version for quick installation. Update if the project needs performance boost. Learn more:
https://www.psycopg.org/psycopg3/docs/basic/install.html#binary-installation
https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/5.0/ref/databases/
Install Psycopg
First stop running the Docker container by running docker-compose down. Docker replaces the virtual environment. The Docker host replaces the local operating system. Since I am using docker, I won’t install locally. Instead, I will just update requirements.txt with the psycopg[binary] package at the bottom of the file.
About docker-compose.yml
docker-compose.yml specifies two separate containers running within Docker.
web for the Django local server
db for the PostgreSQL database.
Docker containers are ephemeral. Information is lost when the container stops running. In docker-compose.yml, the postgres_data volumes mount binds to the local computer.
Configure PostgreSQL
Configure the environment to use trust authentication for the database. For a databases with many users, be more explicit with permissions.
Update the DATABASES config in django_project/settings.py file to use PostgreSQL
Now build the new image and start the two containers in detached mode by running docker-compose up -d –build.
Refresh the Django welcome page at http://127.0.0.1:8000/ to show Django has successfully connected to PostgreSQL via Docker. Remember to docker-compose down to save computer resources when you are finished.
Up next
Before migrating, I will add a custom user model.
